Tumour marker spiked again, anyone had this and it's not being progression?

Good morning,

Yesterday I had my H&P infusions, the second lot on their own without docetaxel which ended in August. Whilst at the hospital I had bloods taken to keep an eye on tumour markers etc...since my scan after chemo finished showed minimal response in some of the cancer and slight progress in 2 or 3 spots in liver. I started letrozole 4 weeks ago.

I have just had a call from oncologist and my tumour marker has spiked again to within the 500 mark, it had dropped in August to within 300 having been over 800 before any treatment started.

Now I'm sure I've read on here previously that tumour markers have been known to spike when a new treatment is introduced, so for me that would be starting letrozole. I did put that to him and he did say that is a possibility and not to get too down over the numbers. Has anyone had a spike but not seen a progression? He's arranging another scan for end of month/beginning November so roughly 2 months after last one just to see what's going on.

[breezie]

Not personally, but I know I have read comments on this forum saying CT scans were stable but markers had spiked. Good to know you're having another scan soon. Best wishes,

Sue

[Hidden]

Hi cazlav -

Lots of discussion on the board re: TM's....I think the medical consensus is that for some of us they're accurate, for others not so much. So that'd be my first question, i.e. do you know if yours have been accurate before, i.e. moving in concert with what your scans show (perhaps with a bit of a lag)?

And, yes, I have been told by docs that they can spike when a new treatment is working because the dead cancer cells are shedding and are detected in the blood. I'm hopeful that this is the case for you, having started Letrozole just a few weeks ago, the timing on that seems right...

Twice (in 5+ years) I've had modest spikes (about 15%?) in my markers that were not followed by progression, but both times they fell again the next month.

At other times I've had very consistent, gradual increases (2-3% / month) for several months then would stabilize for a while, again without progression.

But twice I've had consistent, modest increases, say 10%/month, over several months, after which the scans did show progression. So I guess this is what "accurate tumor markers" look like in me...I'm sure everyone is different...

I know how stressful it can be waiting/wondering, but I would maybe focus on the idea that your markers are bouncing around in response to the new treatment, i.e. likely a good thing. It can take several months for Letrozole to really work...It took more than 7 months for it to kick in for me, as I had extensive progression at the 6 month mark, but then I went on to take it for 3 more years with great results in between...

Good luck with it! Please let us know how it goes...

Lynn

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your reply Lynn. As I'm fairly new to MBC I'm not sure whether my tumour markers are accurate for me or not. I am hoping that this recent spike is a reflection of the scan I had in August and as you say just a lag. I'm not getting worked up about it though, I know that as the scan gets nearer the anxiety will creep in so trying to be kind to myself until then.

[MyMiracle13]

Hi. I have the same question myself because I finished 10 sessions of WBRT on 4 Sept and was on Aromasin since 11 August. I had my tumor markers test as well as other blood tests last Tuesday in preparation for my Xeloda start yesterday. I was hoping for same or slight drop in tumor markers but no, there was still a big spike. So I don’t know if the hormone therapy Aromasin on its own is working or not. I am hoping that since it’s just almost 4 weeks since my WBRT, maybe some of the brain tumors are just starting to die and shed. I am praying and hoping that the Xeloda will kick in soon. I will have another MRI in November and blood tests before that. Hope they show improvement. By the way, tumor markers always worked for me.

[Kaylane123]

What is a normal marker